FIC: A Christmas Promise
Title: A Christmas Promise
Author: SP
Fandom: Drake & Josh
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nickelodeon and Dan Schneider and whoever else own everything.
Rating: PG
Summary: “When have you ever worried about keeping a promise?” (MCD&J spoilers)
Author's Notes: A missing scene.
“But…I still wanna keep my promise.” Drake turned away and started towards the house.
“When have you ever worried about keeping a promise?” Josh called after his brother.
“I wanna keep this one,” Drake answered, turning around halfway, then continuing for the door.
Josh stood still, mulling something over, then jogged the last few steps to the house. “Dude, you keep saying that,” he said, entering the building behind Drake. “And it’s not like I don’t want to, too. ‘Cause I do, you know I do. But tell me, Drake. Why is it so important to you to keep this promise?”
Drake sighed and turned to head up the stairs to their room. Josh trailed after him, his unanswered question hanging in the air between them.
Drake sat down on the couch and picked up his guitar. Josh sat beside him as Drake started strumming the guitar softly.
“Mary Alice came and told me that her family’s Christmas was only gonna be good because of me,” Drake said softly.
Josh frowned. “Because she’s in foster care?” he asked gently.
Drake shook his head. “No. I mean, they mostly seem a lot happier than a lot of kids in foster care--you’ve seen them. No, it’s because their mom got really sick. She’s in the hospital.” Tears welled up in Drake’s eyes. “And to be able to support them, their dad has to work a second job at night. And things are really tight right now, so he had to tell them that sometimes Santa can’t make it to every single house. They won’t have anything if we don’t do something.” Drake sniffled and wiped at the tears that overflowed down his cheeks.
“Wow,” Josh said softly, letting out a breath.
Drake swallowed. “And that’s not all,” he continued. “Their mom is in pretty bad shape. She probably won’t make it to the New Year.” He bit his lip and brushed away more tears, his shoulders shaking from suppressed sobs.
Josh rubbed his shoulder. “Man. They’ve all already lost one set of parents. They don’t need to lose another one.” He was quiet for a moment, then went on, “No kid needs to lose a parent at such a young age.” At Josh’s words, the sobs Drake had valiantly tried to hold back burst out, and he leaned on Josh, seeking comfort. Josh immediately put an arm around Drake’s shoulders, obliging him. “Hey,” he said softly, “What’s wrong? Does their situation really touch you that deeply?”
Drake sniffled again, and managed to get out through his tears, “Yeah, because I’ve lived it. Not the foster care part. But all the rest.”
Josh sat, stunned, for a minute, then wrapped both arms around Drake and squeezed. “I never knew that,” he said softly. “Four years and you never told me?”
Drake shook his head miserably, then leaned more heavily against Josh. “’M sorry,” he murmured, letting the tears run freely down his cheeks. “I just couldn’t, y’know?”
Josh sighed. “Yeah, I know. How old were you?”
“Seven,” Drake answered. “Megan was three. Everything was fine. Then I came home from school on the last day before winter vacation. No one was home. Mom was usually there when I got home, and if she wasn’t, a baby-sitter was. And Megan was always there, obviously. But no one was home that day. I was scared.”
Drake paused, swallowed hard and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them and went on, “I saw a note on the table. It said Drake, Daddy’s sick. Call Mrs. Carmichael when you get home, and she’ll bring you to the hospital. 555-5509. So I called, and Mrs. Carmichael came over and drove me to the hospital. She was pregnant with Robbie then.”
Josh carefully disentangled himself from Drake, stood up, crossed the room, and brought Drake a box of tissues.
“Thanks,” Drake murmured, taking a couple and blowing his nose. Josh sat back down and Drake immediately leaned on him again.
“You’re welcome,” Josh replied, kissing the top of Drake’s head.
“We found Mom in the intensive care waiting room. She said to me, ‘Drake, Daddy’s very sick. He had something called a heart attack. Do you know what that means?’ I remembered that someone’s grandfather in my class had had a heart attack over the summer and died. So I nodded my head and asked her if Daddy was going to get better. And she looked me straight in the eye and said she didn’t know.
“Before my dad got sick, Mom worked part-time. But after, she worked full-time and spent all the time she wasn’t working at the hospital. I spent a lot of time there too, keeping Megan occupied in the waiting room. It was only a couple weeks before Christmas. And Mom told me the same thing Mary Alice’s dad told her--that sometimes, Santa can’t come to all the houses. We didn’t have a tree that year, or any decorations, and Megan and I both got two presents--one from our grandparents, and one from Mom. The day after Christmas, Mom got a phone call at about six in the morning. She drove me and Megan in our pajamas to the hospital. We got there just in time. We all went in to his room, and said goodbye, and then…that was it.
“So…I just don’t want Mary Alice, or any of the kids, to have to go through that. They already have to deal with their mom being sick--they don’t need to have a bad Christmas too. I told her I was gonna fix it, and I’m gonna.”
Josh sighed deeply. “Wow, Drake. I’m sorry you had to go through that when you were only seven. I mean, my mom died when I was two--you know that. But I don’t remember her. It’s probably easier that way.” They sat in silence for a few moments. Then, “You’re right. We do need to give them the best Christmas ever.”
Drake nodded miserably against Josh’s shoulder. “I know. But how?”
Josh sighed again. “I don’t know, brotha. I just don’t know.”